1) Most people have probably never heard of Fucked Up because you are from Toronto, Canada and have never played out in the States. Could you give all of us some background on the band? How it all started? Who plays what? How long you've been together for etc.

M - we started with basically a totally different lineup. Me and Josh (guitar) started the band with chris from left for dead after i was sitting on the toilet reading the insert for my NOTA toy soldiers 7" and seeing the words "fucked up" in print. we started with the name and practiced a few times with that lineup and were real bad. collohan bailed and we got this kid jonah who had been in other small bands at the time (scare tactic/career suicide) to play drums, and our friend sandy to play bass, i played guitar and josh sang. we played 2 shows with this lineup until josh took the summer off to go traveling across the US in train boxcars. we had a show booked, so damian filled in on vocals and recorded a demo with us for some reason. everyone liked dame's vocals better, so we made josh learn guitar after we met up with him in california that august and played him the new demo. so fucked up has been a band since like april 2001, we played out first show in july of that summer.

D - I've known everyone in the bands for years totally independently from one another. I saw them play a couple time before I joined and it was a joke. When they asked me to join I guess I was at a moment of great weakness.

2) Who would you compare Fucked Up to musically? What are your influences as a band?

M - we'll try not to compare ourselves to any band, but we'll admit that there are parts from our songs ripped off directly or indirectly from YOUTH OF TODAY, ANTIDOTE, NEGATIVE APPROACH, etc. we end up sounding basically like whatever bands i'm listening to when i write a new batch of songs...lately i've been listening to/influenced by early and mid LA stuff like X, GERMS, BLACK FLAG, NERVES, CIRCLE JERKS and more international stuff like WRETCHED, KIDNAP, DISCHARGE and DEATHSIDE, ect. But obv our main influences are boston and NYC bands.

D - In the last while i've been listening to: DAMNED, CROSSED OUT, REALLY RED, UPPERCUT, UNITED MUTATION and the new HAYMAKER LP. Vocally, I've been told that I sound like Choke.... which is awesome. Time to drop the bomb on them all. >

3) Would you agree with me in saying that the quality of the demo is not exactly amazing? Is that how you wanted it to sound? All old and scratchy?

M - we made the demo just so we could have our songs on tape so we could listen to them and learn them in time for a real recording. it was recorded in a few hours on just a rented four track by a friend...so it wasn't recorded to be a release, but we liked it and gave it to a bunch of friends, and probably will give it out until we put something ut for real. we didn't record it trying to have it sound a certain way, just loud...its shit quality, but its raw and i think it sounds cool...i like the demo version of the 2nd song better than the studio version.

D - I think a lot of bands today forget that hardcore should sound a little dirty.... that being said our demo was too dirty.

4) What is that a picture of on the cover of the demo?

M - its a picture lifted from alice through the looking glass. we're basically influenced thematically by bands like SNAPCASE who have psychology degrees. kidding...the cover has nothing to do with any of the songs on the demo (esp since we had no lyrics written when we recorded it...) - the idea behind the cover and a lot of our new songs is that there are two ways a person can live life - people who live in the mainstream and really enjoy life in a real way but who shut themselves off from a lot of real problems in the world, problems that the rest of us get fucked up by and feel shit about....the metaphor is that these people are living in a dreamworld, but enjoying their lives - the people who see going to dance clubs, or popular kids at school or jocks - these fucking assholes have no fucking idea, but they get all the breaks and have a great time making life shit for the rest of us. on the other side you have the rest of us - minorities, the homeless, punks, any group of people alienated from the dreamworld that these fucks created for themselves to play in....so the idea behind the picture is alice caught between these two worlds (albeit an exageration) - a dull and harsh reality, or a clueless dreamworld.

D - Mike is a nerd.

5) What are some of your lyrics about? Is there one basic theme going on in every song or what?

D -Early on the lyrics were about life on the brink of giving up. The lyrics come from the place mike and I were in this summer: working shit jobs, and feeling totally alone. When I joined the band I was living with my ex-girlfriend and two roomates that I hated more then anything and I was working some shit retail toy store job. I felt like shit all the time. So that is all I wrote about. Now we write about magic, wizards and killing posers.

M - most of our lyrics deal with desperation, frustration...going to work everyday and seeing the same bullshit everyday over and over and breaking down in the basement...living in a world we can't really understand that makes us crazy, etc.

6) How are shows you play in Canada? Do you get a good reaction from kids for the most part?

M - we don't really play big shows, but they are fun...toronto doesn't have good venues or a large scene, so mostly when we play we know 80% of the people who are watching us. so kids say they like us to our faces because we know them. we also make them dance by playing GLUE to start our set.

D- The reactions are getting better. For a while I was fucking myself up on stage and people would just stand there staring as I bled on the floor. The No Warning kids started dancing for us and everyone fell into line. Now I watch as the kids make each other bleed.

7) Do you have anything planned as far as recording goes in the future?

M - a two song single on Deranged was recorded a week ago by a fuck, we're doing a split with HAYMAKER, an amazing band from here, a song on the TORONTO BREAKOUT comp 7" which will have songs by No warning, haymaker, our war, scare tactic, riot 99, adversary and career suicide. then we're going to work on a 12".

D - I'm trying to convince the band to call the 12" Bob Krane. After the star of hogan's heros who made porn and was murdered. All the songs will be about him.

8) Will Fucked Up ever play the U.S.? You can play my show April 26th in Haverhill, Mass if you want to?

M - i'm the only person who has a drivers licence in the band, nobody has their own gear, or a car....we even started the band with a no touring policy because i'd been in another band that toured a lot and i wasn't into it, but we're gonna try and book a week tour for the spring if kids buy our record and want to see us. i do shows and get mail lots from bands i've never heard of who want me to do a show, and its annoying, so i wouldn't want to be that nobody band begging some poor person for a show that no-one is going to go to.

About that show - we talked to NW and they said we could use their gear, ect, and i just lost my job, so we might try and do it...

9) Damian, do you really collect toys?

D - I wouldn't say collect really. I got a lot of toys at my old job. I buy all sorts of weird shit but the only things I really collect are records.

M - things in our house that we aren't allowed to get rid of that belong to Damian include: a 7 foot high PlayMobile Man; a Hello Kitty toaster; a magicians box; a ziplock bag full of naked babie models and probably tons more crap that i can't remember.

10) Tell everyone about your radio show in Toronto?

D - The show is called Mods N Rockers and it's been around for years; long before I got involved. I started doing the show about six years ago. We moved the show onto the internet last year after being thrown off the radio for slander. We play whatever we want, people come in and hang out. It's a good time.

11) How can people buy Fucked Up stuff?

M -we have the first 8 song demo, which is $3, and a second 5 song demo, which is just the 7" sessions with the 2 7" songs, the comp song and 2 other songs that we recorded for fun, which is also $3, or both for $5. Mike 34 Park Blvd Toronto Ontario M8W 1G8. the single should be out in a few months and will be easy to find in bargain bins all over the country since gord deranged is pressing 2000 copies of a 7" that has 4 minutes of music by an unknown band from canada.

12) Shout Outs?

M -all toronto breakout bands, and jerry A. thanks a lot for the interview.

D - Yeah, thanks a lot. Thank yous to Matt Delong, Gord, MRC, NWC and Haymaker.

M - Thanks to Matt White also.

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